The invention relates to an applicator device for cosmetic preparations, having a closed, substantially cylindrical casing in which there is displaceably disposed a piston dividing the casing into two variable-size chambers sealed from one another, the one variable-size chamber being fillable with the cosmetic preparation and being connected to a removable applicator provided with an outfeed passage for the preparation, by means of which the cosmetic preparation can be applied in measured amounts by means of a metering valve to the part of the body to be treated, the variable-size chamber opposite the preparation reservoir chamber being provided with a connection for the injection of a compressed gas which seeks to displace the piston to reduce the volume of the preparation reservoir, and in the passage joining the preparation reservoir chamber to the applicator there is disposed a self-closing valve preventing the escape of the preparation when the applicator is removed.
Devices for the application of liquid or creamy cosmetic preparations, such as shaving foam, shampoos, hair dressings and hair coloring preparations, in which the preparation to be applied is metered from a preparation reservoir chamber provided within the apparatus, to a suitable applicator whereby it can be applied to the part of the body or hair to be treated, are known in many embodiments (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,803; U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,251; U.S. Pat. No. 2,603,223 and German OS No. 2,749,074). However, such devices have been unable hitherto to win acceptance for the application of hair coloring preparations because these preparations, which must be made by combining a dye paste and an oxidizing liquid immediately before use, i.e., they cannot be charged into a device and kept in storage, because otherwise the chemical reaction between the two components of the preparation, which is utilized for the hair dyeing, would be completed prematurely by the time they were put into use. Also, the chemical reaction causes these preparations to harden relatively fast and can result in tightly adherent coatings in the apparatus and to clogging. These characteristics of hair coloring preparations therefore necessitate the mixing and charging of the preparation into the device immediately prior to use and the careful cleaning of the device immediately after the treatment of the hair has been completed. In another known applicator device of the kind mentioned in the beginning (German Pat. No. 943,904), the pressure required for the dispensing of the preparation is produced by a small hand pump in the form of a resilient rubber bulb provided on the casing of the device, which is alternately squeezed and released by the hand grasping the casing. With the same hand, a button operating the self-closing valve must be pressed against the force of a spring during the application in order to meter the feed of the preparation to the applicator. This twofold operation tires the hand of the user and makes the manipulation of the device inconvenient and fatiguing. In hairdressers' shop practice, therefore, the procedure used in hair dyeing is conducted mainly by mixing the components of the preparation together in an open dyeing dish and then applying the preparation to the hair of the customer with a hand brush.
In contrast to this, the object of the invention is to improve the known applicator device so that it can be prepared simply and quickly for the hair treatment procedure, and so that after the treatment it can be cleaned out, while at the same time facilitating the manipulation of the device during the treatment.
Setting out from an applicator device of the kind mentioned in the beginning, this object is achieved in accordance with the invention by the fact that within the cylindrical casing there is provided a plunger which extends into the preparation reservoir chamber and directly or indirectly engaged the self-closing valve, passes sealingly and displaceably through the piston, and in its end portion remote from the self-closing valve is coupled to a venting valve for the variable-size compressed gas chamber opposite the preparation reservoir chamber such that the opening thrust transmitted by the valve to the plunger upon the opening of the self-closing valve opens the venting valve. In the applicator device thus constructed, when the applicator is removed, the device can be charged with the preparation through the self-closing valve without opening the casing. Advantageously, this charging is performed by means of a pressure can or a pump onto whose dispensing nipple the casing is pressed and thus simultaneously the self-closing valve is opened. This piston provided in the casing is displaced according to the size of the charge entering through the valve thus opened, in which case the compressed gas chamber opposite the preparation reservoir chamber must be vented, and this is accomplished by the automatic coupling of the self-closing valve through the plunger. After the preparation has been charged into the device, a compressed gas source is then connected to the compressed gas chamber, and by means of the overpressure then built up in this chamber, the preparation can be transferred from the preparation reservoir chamber into the applicator that has then been replaced on the casing, and from there onto the portion of the body of hair that is to be treated. The compressed gas can be compressed air, for example, which is delivered to the compressed gas chamber through a connecting line. Alternatively, the compressed gas source can also be a compressed gas cartridge that can be fastened to the compressed gas connection, or a small, refillable can containing an aerosol propellant, such as Frigen, for example. Both the compressed air and the aerosol propellant are available in modern cosmetic and hair dressing salons, now that the use of preparations foamed with compressed air, for example, is increasing in popularity. The operation by hand of a pump integrated into the device is therefore eliminated.
The device is at the same time preferably so contrived that the end of the plunger remote from the self-closing valve is brought sealingly and displaceably through the casing end wall which closes the compressed gas chamber and is provided with the compressed gas connection, and the plunger bears at its end outside of the casing the venting valve which extends into the venting aperture of the compressed gas chamber. Upon the depression of the self-closing valve for the purpose of filling the preparation reservoir with the preparation that is to be applied, therefore, the valve is positively drawn by the plunger out of the venting aperture of the compressed gas chamber, so that the compressed gas chamber is vented and the floating piston can shift without back pressure by an amount corresponding to the amount of preparation injected.
On the end of the plunger situated outside of the casing there is provided, in an advantageous further development of the invention, a container that can be filled with compressed gas, from which there projects a hollow nipple connected with its interior, which, when the plunger is engaged with the closed self-closing valve, engages the venting aperture of the compressed gas chamber and constitutes the venting valve.
It is desirable to provide in the venting aperture of the compressed gas chamber an annular packing which will form a seal on the circumference of the nipple of the compressed gas container when the venting valve is closed. The nipple can therefore enter with clearance into the venting orifice of the compressed gas chamber, so that an annular gap is formed between the nipple and the venting aperture as soon as the nipple is withdrawn from the annular packing.
The container that can be filled with compressed gas is then desirably also provided with a transfer valve that can be connected to a compressed gas source.
In an advantageous further development of the invention, the container which can be filled with compressed gas has on its front side facing the casing a cylindrical prolongation which, when the nipple of the container is in sealed engagement with the connection on the casing, rests against the rear wall of the casing; in the interior of this prolongation, the end of the plunger is held for longitudinal displacement such that the front end of the plunger and hence the piston through which this front end is passed, can be withdrawn, when the front casing wall is removed, through the then open front end of the casing. For the cleaning of the device thus constructed, all that need be done is remove from the casing the applicator and the closure of the front end of the casing, whereupon the piston that is displaceable on the plunger is pushed out of the open front end of the device by the compressed gas still present in the compressed gas chamber, and the mounting of the plunger on the compressed gas container, which is additionally displaceable longitudinally by the predetermined amount, permits the front end of the plunger and hence of the piston to be pushed out of the casing to such an extent that then the entire interior of the casing is accessible for rinsing out. The removed applicator and the front closure of the casing can then also be rinsed off without difficulty as can the piston which is then exposed in front of the casing.
The additional displaceability of the plunger by the necessary amount is achieved in a desirable development of the invention by the fact that, on the plunger end within the cylindrical prolongation there is mounted a crosspiece whose free ends engage in longitudinal recesses in the cylindrical prolongation, the length of these longitudinal recesses then determining the extent of the additional displaceability.
At the same time it is advantageous to give the crosspiece a slightly greater length than the outside diameter of the cylindrical prolongation, in which case the longitudinal recesses can then be elongated holes through the wall of the cylindrical prolongation. The outer ends of the crosspiece thus extend slightly behond the wall of the cylindrical prolongation and can be grasped by the hand, so that the control stem can then be intentionally pushed forward by the required amount if the residual gas cushion in the compressed gas chamber no longer suffices to push the piston together with the control stem all the way out of the opened casing.
The piston of the device is preferably provided with a pressure relief valve which will open to the compressed gas chamber when there is an excessive pressure in the preparation reservoir. This relief valve prevents any pressure harmful to the device from building up in the preparation reservoir. This might be conceivable, for example, in a case in which the device is filled with preparation up to its maximum capacity, i.e., the preparation reservoir is at its maximum volume and the piston is therefore at its end position, the plunger having been pullsed back to uncover the venting aperture. If now the plunger is pushed into the preparation reservoir for the purpose of closing the venting valve, the volume of the preparation reservoir will be reduced by that of the pushed-in plunger, so that the pressure will increase. If the piston then cannot yield, intolerable pressure might be produced. This danger is eliminated, however, by the relief valve.
In a preferred embodiment, the device is then so designed that the piston has on the side facing the compressed gas chamber a prolongation which is sealed against the plunger by an annular packing, through which the control stem passes, and in this prolongation there is provided at least one substantially radial through-bore which communicates the compressed gas chamber with the preparation reservoir through a gap existing between the plunger on the one hand and the bore and prolongation of the piston on the other, and that a resiliently expandable sealing ring is placed under bias over the orifice or orifices of the through-bore or bores. In order to secure the position of the sealing ring in line with the orifice of the through-bore, a circumferential annular recess can be provided in the area of the orifice or orifices of the through-bore or bores in the outer peripheral wall of the prolongation, in which the sealing ring will be held secure against axial displacement. A commercially available O-ring of rubber-elastic material is best used as the sealing ring.
The annular gasket sealing the preparation reservoir chamber against the penetration of preparation into the compressed gas chamber is best an annular lipped packing disposed on the prolongation, whose annular lip sealingly engages the control stem. An especially simple design is achieved if the piston, the prolongation and the lipped packing are made of one piece of plastic.
If the applicator device of the invention is to serve for the application of a hair dye preparation to be prepared from two components to be mixed together immediately before the treatment, it is recommendable to dispose on the plunger end in the preparation reservoir adjacent the self-closing valve a mixing means for the intimate mixing of preparation components charged into the preparation reservoir. The preparation components can then be placed in the reservoir separately in the required amount through the self-closing valve, and can be prepared by the mixing means to form the ready-to-use dye preparation.
To be able to store a sufficient volume of compressed gas even when the device is largely filled with preparation, it is recommendable to provide in the end wall closing the compressed gas chamber a space of lesser diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical casing, whose volume is at least equal to the volume of the section of the plunger that is within the preparation reservoir when the plunger is all the way in and the piston is all the way out. In addition to serving for the storage of compressed gas, this additional chamber will also serve to accommodate any preparation that might overflow from the preparation reservoir through the relief valve.
The applicator of the applicator device is provided with a pusher which comes into contact with the self-closing valve when the applicator is fastened to the cylindrical casing, and which serves for the opening of the self-closing valve when the applicator device is in use. The pusher is best affixed to the applicator and the applicator is to be able to be fastened to the cylindrical casing in a position in which the pusher still does not open the self-closing valve, the fastening arrangement on the housing being so designed that the applicator is displaceable additionally by a certain amount in the direction of the preparation reservoir, which will suffice to open the self-closing valve. The feeding of the preparation will then be controlled entirely by displacing the applicator, and a handle facilitating this displacement can be provided on the applicator. In certain cases, the opening of the self-closing valve can also be produced simply by pressing the applicator against the part of the body or hair that is to be treated. It is clear that the actuating stroke transferred by the pusher to the self-closing valve when the applicator is operated must be shorter than when the preparation reservoir is charged with the components, in order to assure that the venting aperture of the compressed gas chamber will remain closed. By a corresponding limitation of the stroke of the applicator, however, this can quite easily be assured.
In the area of the emergence of the preparation from the applicator it is desirable to provide a brush with which the preparation can be brushed into the hair beginning from the hair roots.
In this case the design is preferably made such that the orifice of the discharge passage of the applicator is within the brush, and that the brush application surface formed by the free ends of the bristles of the brush lies in a plane which is at an angle of between 30.degree. to 60.degree. to the longitudinal center axis of the passage. This slope of the contact surface has the purpose not only of permitting a more comfortable position of the brushing surface when working with the device, because this could also be accomplished by similarly angled arrangement of a brush having a brushing surface at right angles to the passage, but in this manner it is brought about that the orifice of the passage can be disposed at a relatively short distance from the middle of the brushing surface and nevertheless a portion of the bristles will still project sufficiently for resilience and softness. In other words, the distance traveled by the preparation to the brushing surface is on the one hand so short that the preparation will emerge in the necessary manner at the brushing surface instead of, say, emerging laterally out of the brush. The preparation can then be distributed from the area of its emergence over the entire brushing surface as operation progresses, i.e., also into the area of the longer, softer bristles with which the strands of hair are then coated. By holding the applicator device with the applicator in the appropriate position, the hair strands can also be treated selectively with the stiffer, shorter or softer, longer bristles, which is not possible with a brush of bristles of all the same length, because such bristles would all have approximately the same stiffness.
In a preferred further development, the passage is provided in a tubular projection disposed centrally within the bristles surrounding it, and projecting from the applicator body, and its forward end as seen in the direction of the emergence of the preparation terminates ahead of the point of the brushing surface nearest the casing. In other words, there is no danger that the tubular projection will be placed directly on a strand of hair much less on the scalp of the person being treated.